UCSF is Phasing out Sugary Drinks and Phasing in Healthy Options

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The University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) is the only university in the UC system exclusively focused on health science and includes two hospitals. As the second largest employer in San Francisco, UCSF feels a close tie to the bay area community, where Latinos make up 23% of residents.

UCSF recently announced a new way they will be setting a healthy example on campus and off.

Starting July 1, UCSF will start phasing in a program to sell only zero-calorie beverages or non-sweetened drinks with nutritional value, such as milk and 100 percent juice, and will phase out the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages in its onsite cafeterias and food vendors, vending machines and retail locations.

According to research assessed by the UCSF-led SugarScience project, Americans currently consume an average of 19.5 teaspoons of added sugar per day, of which 36 percent is in the form of sodas, sports drinks and energy drinks.

And Latino kids drink more sugary drinks on average than their peers.

According to SugarScience’s blog, by making it easy to purchase healthy food and drinks, UCSF can support patients and employees who are trying to improve their health.

As of November 2015, members of the UCSF community and visitors will be able to bring sodas or other sugary drinks with them to campus, but will only be able to purchase healthy beverages.

Learn more facts about sugar from SugarScience here.